Best Marvel Rivals characters for beginners

Marvel Rivals has been out for a couple months now, with some players already having put hundreds of hours into the hero shooter. It can be a difficult game to approach as a new player, but picking the right hero helps.
In a break from the tradition of stalwarts like Overwatch, Marvel Rivals doesn’t have a rigid role system, but the game’s champions do still fit into more loose categories. Divided into either Vanguard, Strategist or Duelist, their purpose is a little more difficult to decipher than the usual Tank, Healer and DPS.
There also isn’t a balanced matchmaking system that ensures each type is represented equally on opposite teams. As such, having a fallback if you need to fill in other roles is a must.
These are our picks for easiest heroes to learn for players who are beginners at their role and are still learning the ropes in Marvel Rivals.
Best Duelists for beginners in Marvel Rivals
Squirrel Girl

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Burst Acorn: Shoot bouncing Burst Acorns
- Unbeatable Squirrel Tsunami: Summon a horde of squirrels to charge forward, dealing damage while bouncing against structures
- Tail Bounce: Rocket upwards with a bounce of her tail
- Mammal Bond: Reload Burst Acorns and can use an ability without cooldown once for a short duration
- Squirrel Blockade: Launch an acorn to unleash Squirrel Guards, imprisoning the first enemy it hits
- Webbed Acorn (Team-up Ability): Spider-Man gives Squirrel Girl a web bomb. She can slingshot it to unleash an explosion upon contact with the environment or an enemy, briefly ensnaring and damaging enemies caught in the blast
One of the more interesting features of the current meta is that characters of a lesser name are rising to the top of the tree. That said, anybody who has read any appearances by Squirrel Girl in the comics will be entirely unsurprised to see her on this list.
Her ranged acorn attacks are explosive and do a diabolical amount of damage to enemies in the area. For new players, she’s a character that doesn’t require you to be particularly accurate, but she does reward those who take the time to master her intricacies.
Also, her ult getting buffed to track targets rather than bouncing around randomly makes her much easier to play and gives her a ton of burst with one of the fastest charging ults in the game.
Namor

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Trident of Neptune: Throw Namor’s trident forward, reducing Acquatic Dominion’s cooldown upon impact. Critical hits cause Monstro Spawn to enter a berserk state, gaining increased attack speed.
- Horn of Proteus (Ult): Summon Giganto to leap atop enemies within range, disabling their mobility abilities.
- Blessing of the Deep: Summon a protective barrier while flying upwards.
- Aquatic Dominion: Summon a Monstro Spawn that can autonomously attack enemies.
- Tide Fall: Hold Jump to fall slowly
- Wrath of the Seven Seas: Launch Namor’s Trident forward to damage nearby enemies, then direct all Monstro Spawn to perform an enhanced attack on the nearest hit enemy. When the trident hits an enemy, Monstro Spawn enter a berserk state, gaining increased attack speed.
- Frozen Spawn (Team-Up Ability): Luna Snow infuses ice energy into Namor and Jeff the Land Shark, who can then tap into the ice energy to power up abilities at will.
Namor is the quintessential anti-dive hero. If you’re a new player and are really struggling against highly mobile, hard-to-hit heroes who are constantly running down your backline, Namor is the best hero you can pick.
Even if your aim isn’t that great, the power of his turrets combined with his ability to become completely damage immune and one of the best CC ults in the game make him a quintessential part of any Duelist players repertoire. Learn Namor and win more games, it really is that simple.
If you know when to pick him and how to play him, this underrated DPS hero can win you games without requiring the same level of mechanics heroes like Black Panther and Spider Man require to carry games.
The Punisher

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Adjudication: Fire at enemies with Adjudication, his Automatic Rifle
- Deliverance: Fire at enemies with Deliverance, his Shotgun
- Final Judgement: Unleash two Gatling guns and missiles to attack enemies
- Vantage Connection: Launch a hook to generate a cable that enables the Punisher to move rapidly by pressing F
- Culling Turret: Deploy a Culling Turret that grounds Punisher and blocks damage from the front while dealing massive damage
- Scourge Grenade: Throw a smoke grenade forward to obscure enemy vision and leap backward
- Warrior’s Gaze: Retain vision of enemies that disappear from view for a short duration
- Infinite Punishment (Team-Up Ability): Rocket Raccoon throws an Ammo Overload device in the target direction. Upon entering the device’s range, The Punisher and Winter Soldier receive the buffs of Infinite Ammo and Faster Firing
The Punisher has an impressively varied toolkit and is easily one of the most forgiving Duelists in the game’s current roster. Between him having high mobility that can be abused with his ziplines, a turret that makes him great for holding chokes, and a shotgun to take out tanks that try to dive him, The Punisher has the right tool for every job. Not to mention an incredibly strong ult and smokes that cut off sightlines and counter long-range heroes.
He’s also great for taking out flying heroes like Storm and Iron Man who are relatively strong in the meta, as well as tearing through deployables like Groot’s walls or shields with health bars like Invisible Woman’s and Doctor Strange’s.
If you’re looking for a beginner friendly character that’s always a strong pick, The Punisher is a great bet.
Best Strategists for beginners in Marvel Rivals
Rocket Raccoon

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Bombard Mode: Fire energy projectiles that deal damage
- Repair Mode: Shoot bouncing spheres to heal allies
- C.Y.A: Deploy a Cosmic Yarn Amplifier that grants allies a Damage Boost
- Jetpack Dash: Dash forward
- B.R.B: Deploy a Battle Rebirth Beacon that revives a fallen ally and periodically produces armor packs and rocket jet packs
- Wild Crawl: Hold Space to run on a wall
- Flying Ace: Hold Space to fall slowly
- Old Friends (Team-Up Ability): Jeff the Land Shark and Rocket Raccoon can ride on Groot’s shoulders, receiving Damage Reduction
- Ammo Invention (Team-Up Ability): Rocket Raccoon throws an Ammo Overload device in the target direction. Upon entering the device’s range, the Punisher and Winter Soldier receive the buffs of Infinite Ammo and Faster Firing
Everyone’s favorite rude raccoon is back in Marvel Rivals and he’s bringing a ton of inventions from his arsenal of death and destruction. While he has a ton of damage potential if you know what you’re doing with his primary fire, healbotting with this hero is a completely viable option if you’re new. Someone even got to Masters with him without dealing damage once.
His heal orbs are relatively easy to use and have a large AoE, he can quickly dash out of danger if he gets dived, and his revive will keep your team from throwing if they get picked off. He also has some advanced movement with wall-running, but don’t feel like you have to use it to succeed.
With one of the lowest skill floors in the game, Rocket Raccoon manages to be an easily approachable hero who also has potential at high levels of play.
Jeff the Land Shark

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Joyful Splash: Unleash a healing splash
- Aqua Burst: Launch a high-speed water sphere that bursts upon impact, dealing damage to enemies within range
- It’s Jeff!: Deep dive into the scene and resurface to swallow both enemies and allies within range, activating Hide and Seek for a brief duration before ejecting the swallowed heroes forward
- Hide and Seek: Dive into the scene with only his dorsal fin exposed, granting himself a Movement Boost. Jeff can heal while submerged and gains the wall-crawl ability
- Healing Bubble: Spit a bubble that heals the ally who collects it, granting them Healing Boost and Movement Boost while also launching up nearby enemies
- Oblivious Cuteness: Reduce damage taken from critical hits
- Frozen Spitball (Team-Up Ability): Luna Snow infuses ice energy into Namor and Jeff the Land Shark, who then can tap into the ice energy to power up abilities at will
- New Friends (Team-Up Ability): Jeff the Land Shark and Rocket Raccoon can ride on Groot’s shoulders, receiving Damage Reduction
Don’t be fooled by his insanely cute appearance, Jeff the Land Shark is just as scary as any character in Marvel Rivals. One of the major advantages he has is that several of his abilities make it very hard, or even impossible, to do damage to him while he’s moving. In those early games where you’re still getting used to things, that time to breathe is invaluable.
Jeff is also secretly pretty strong in the current triple heal meta. Normally, his ult taking him out of the fight results in your team lacking heals while he sits beneath the ground. However, if you’ve got 2 other healers on the team, Jeff can ult with little worry.
If you’re intimidated by DPSing or Tanking and want to try out a heal-heavy team comp, Jeff is a fantastic option.
Mantis

Normal Attacks and Abilities
- Life Energy Blast: Fire an energy thorn and regain one Life Orb after a critical hit.
- Soul Resurgence (Ult): Release energy around Mantis while moving, providing healing over time and a movement speed boost for surrounding allies. Excess healing converts to bonus health.
- Spore Slumber: Throw a spore to Sedate the nearest enemy.
- Allied Inspiration: Consume Life Orbs to grant allies a damage boost.
- Natural Anger: Consume Life Orbs to grant herself a damage boost.
- Healing Flower: Consume Life Orbs to grant allies healing over time.
- Nature’s Favor (Passive): Receives a movement speed boost when not injured and heals over time while consuming Life Orbs
- Nature’s Soul (Team-Up Ability): Adam Warlock enhances the rebirth power of Star-Lord and Mantis, granting them the power of cocooned revival.
Mantis is the hardest hero to play on this list in terms of mechanical skill, but she’s a bit of a one-woman army when it comes to carrying games. She has decent self healing, high damage, doesn’t require the best aim to heal allies, and CC that can stop ults if timed properly.
It could be argued that Cloak and Dagger is also great for beginners, but their stance swapping is difficult to get the hang of, and staying in damage stance can create some bad habits. If you’re looking to learn when you should heal and when you should DPS in the support role, Mantis is the absolute best hero you can pick.
Best Vanguards for beginners in Marvel Rivals
Groot

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Vine Strike: Launch vines to attack enemies
- Strangling Prison: Fire a massive vine cluster that pulls nearby enemies to its center and Imprisons them
- Thornlash Wall: Target a location and grow a Thornlash Wall. When Awakened, it strikes nearby enemies attacked by Groot and his allies
- Ironwood Wall: Target a location and grow an Ironwood Wall. When the wall is Awakened, damage dealt by Groot and nearby allies grants Groot Bonus Health
- Spore Bomb: Throw an explosive Spore Bomb that splits into multiple small explosive spores
- Flora Colossus: Wooden walls near Groot will Awaken, activating an extra effect. Right-click while building a wooden wall to continue building additional walls
- Furious Flora: Perform a combo with his arms, and the third strike will slightly Launch Up the hit enemy airborne
- Friendly Shoulder (Team-Up Ability): Jeff the Land Shark and Rocket Raccoon can ride on Groot’s shoulders, receiving Damage Reduction
As you might expect from a big tree, Groot is a tanky and irrepressible force in Marvel Rivals. His ability to reduce incoming damage and protect areas is an important one, making it a lot easier to hold certain areas when being attacked by enemy teams.
His greatest strength is his crowd control, with several abilities that severely limit the opposing team’s capabilities, regardless of who they’re playing. Happily, none of his abilities are particularly difficult to hit and he can take a ton of damage before falling in battle, making him a great choice for newer players who may struggle to stay out of danger.
Venom

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Dark Predation: Unleash tentacles forward to attack enemies
- Feast of the Abyss: Burrow underground for free movement. After a duration or by left-clicking, devour enemies above to deal damage based on the enemy’s current health and generate equivalent Bonus Health
- Venom Swing: Launch webbing forward, allowing for a singular swing in the desired direction
- Symbiotic Resilience: Generate Bonus Health against damage. The lower Venom’s Health, the greater the Bonus Health generated
- Frenzied Arrival: Dash to the target location from a certain height. Upon landing, damage nearby enemies, launching them up toward the landing point
- Cellular Corrosion: Unleash tentacles to Slow enemies within reach. Enemies unable to break free in time will suffer damage
- Alien Biology: Press Space to wall crawl, and while crawling, left-click to sprint
- Touch of Klyntar (Team-Up Ability): Venom shares a part of his symbiote with Spider-Man and Peni Parker, activating their symbiote abilities. Spider-Man and Peni Parker can convert the symbiotes into explosive spikes that inflict harm on nearby enemies and relentlessly drive them back
Venom may have a strong claim to being the best character in Marvel Rivals overall right now, but he’s also very forgiving for beginners. His movement is fast and easy to get the hang of, making it quite easy to stay out of danger. If you do get caught, he can take a fair amount of punishment before being taken out.
Feast of the Abyss is a huge boon, allowing him to stay entirely out of trouble, either to get away from advancing enemies or to sneak in behind for a surprise attack. For a tank, he also outputs a hell of a lot of damage and you should find yourself cleaning up enemy characters without too much trouble before long.
Magneto

Normal Attack & Abilities
- Iron Volley: Fire a volley of magnetic orbs forward. The range of the resulting explosion increases based on distance flown
- Meteor M: Draw in all materials around to forge an iron meteor that deals massive damage upon impact. Absorbing enemy projectiles can enhance the meteor’s power, yet overloading will cause it to self-destruct
- Metallic Curtain: Change the magnetic field around to form a metallic curtain, blocking all incoming projectiles
- Metal Bulwark: Conjure a metal shield around a chosen ally. Damage taken will transform into rings on Magneto’s back
- Iron Bulwark: Conjure an iron shield around himself. Damage taken will transform into rings on Magneto’s back
- Mag-Cannon: Convert the iron rings on Magneto’s back into a Mag-Cannon and launch a metallic mass forward. Higher stacks of rings increase damage, and full stacks knock back enemies
- Magnetic Descent: Hold Space to fall slowly
- Metallic Fusion (Team-Up Ability): Scarlet Witch can infuse Chaos Energy into Magneto to enchant his greatsword. Upon receiving the Chaos Energy, Magneto can unleash its full force, striking down enemies with his enchanted greatsword
Though a little trickier to get the hang of than the other two Vanguards in this list, Magneto is easily the most rewarding for those who take the time to learn his intricacies. That said, he is also easy to pick up and play and should offer a nice route from a beginner player to a more advanced combatant, without having to change heroes.
Magneto brings a lot of shielding options into battle for both himself and allies, allowing a great route for deep engage champions to get where they need to be without taking damage. Magneto has very little in the way of difficult-to-hit skill shots and the learning curve mostly comes in knowing what to use and when.
That’s our complete guide to the best beginner heroes in Marvel Rivals. Make sure to check out our tier list, so you know exactly how your choice stacks up against the competition.